


GLASS -Servamp Kid!Fic-

by akso, orphan_account



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Kid Fic, M/M, Mentions of Mental Illness, but they're not in detail, i feel bad for these children, i feel bad for this, i messed up on the ages, kinda dark??, mentions of some archive warnings, nothing even close to smut beCAUSE THEY'RE LIKE ELEVEN, pretty much everyone suffers, team melancholy aren't bad in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:09:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8330749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akso/pseuds/akso, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mahiru gets a foster brother with tired eyes, and children in the area start going missing.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Character ages and stuff  
> Mahiru-10-Grade 5  
> Tetsu-9-Grade 4  
> Mikuni-14-Grade 8  
> Licht-11-Grade 6  
> Misono-9-Grade 4  
> Kuro-11-Grade 5 (Meant to be in 6)  
> Hugh-8-Grade 3  
> Jeje-14-Grade 9  
> Wrath-20-Left school  
> Hyde-11-Grade 6  
> Gluttony-18-Left school  
> Lily-14-Grade 8  
> Tsubaki-14-Grade 9  
> Belkia-15-Grade 9  
> Sakuya-10-Grade 5  
> So obviously wrath and gluttony aren't kids in this, but they will be included into the story. And I suppose some of them are technically teenagers since they're 13-15,  but hey, they're still kids.  
> Unfortunately, the story is going to get pretty dark. But it'll still have it's fluffy moments.
> 
> -Warnings-  
> -Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and briefly implied self harm.  
> -Some swearing (mainly from adults)  
> -Implied Non Con (Doesn't go into detail)  
> -Tortue  
> -Abduction

-Mahiru's POV-  
"Mahiru! Come over here for a minute!" I heard my uncle shout from the living room as I attempted (but failed) at combing my hair.  
I dropped the comb and half sprinted out my door and down the hall, as I expected, my uncle was sitting on our dark blue couch and reading a piece of paper, 'A letter?' I thought.  
"What is it?" I sat down next to him and tried to look at what he was reading.  
"We're going to be picking up your brother today, his name is Kuro. He's a little older than you and kinda a little bit  troubled, so be nice to him, and make him feel really welcome here. Okay?" He spoke softly, like mom used to.  
My eyes widened."I will! It's the simplest option!" I half-shouted.   
"'Simple boy, just like your uncle." He said, ruffling my hair.  
I had known for a while that my uncle had agreed to look after a foster kid for a while now, and I was super excited. I mean, I loved Uncle Toru and all, but I had always wanted a brother or sister.  
-5 hours later-  
I bounced up and down in the minty green seat outside the door as I waited for my uncle and my new brother to come outside, as I began thinking about what he'd be like, the door opened. My uncle came out and waved at somebody.  
"Come on, Kuro. Don't be shy. This is Mahiru."  
A few seconds later, a boy with light blue hair and shiny red eyes came out of the door, he looked tired. Like, really tired.  
"Hi! I'm Mahiru!"  
"I know..."His voice was deep, and his reply was quiet.  
"Come on! Let's go to the car!"I grabbed his hand and started running. He stumbled behind me, but followed, dragging his suitcase behind him.   
Once we were at my uncle's shabby car, I yanked the handle on a door.   
"It's locked, what a pain." Kuro breathed out.  
A few seconds of awkward staring later,  my uncle was outside. He then unlocked the car doors and I, still holding onto Kuro's hand, pulled him inside.   
The car ride was quiet, since Kuro had fallen asleep pretty quickly. I had asked my uncle a bunch of questions.  
"Will Kuro come to my school?"  
"Yeah, he'll be in your class."  
"Can we go to Sakuya's later?"  
"Yes, I arranged for his sister to babysit the three of you while I'm at the shops today."  
"What's for dinner?"  
"You two can pick whatever you want."   
As we pulled into the driveway, I nudged the sleeping kid next to me.  
"Kuro! Kuro, we're home now!"   
"Can it, Hyde." He mumbled.  
"Who's Hyde?" I asked, puzzled.  
"I think he was one of Kuro's foster siblings he's going to your school tomorrow, too. He's in the sixth grade though." My uncle answered.  
I tapped Kuro on the shoulder.   
"Come on~" I whined.  
He then opened his eyes, and a few sleepy moments later we were inside and my uncle was showing Kuro where everything was.  
"Oh, Kuro. I forgot to ask, what do you want for dinner?"  
My uncle asked, and I turned my head to Kuro.  
"Uhh..... Can I have ramen?" Kuro rubbed the back of his head.   
A few moments later, Kuro was lying on the bottom bunk bed as I looked through my friend (and sibling's) suitcase. I found a few clothes a stuffed cat, A light blue backpack with a bell on the zipper, some video games and a toothbrush.  
"You don't have much stuff, do you?" I asked.  
"Well, I shared most of my things with my foster siblings at the orphanage. So I don't own that much." He yawned.  
Lifting up the stuffed cat, I saw an orange container-bottle thing with tic-tacs in it.  
"An-ti dep-ress-ants? Can I have some of your candy?" I sounded out the words on the bottle.  
"Anti depressants, my fathe- caretaker, says I have to swallow those everyday, they're not candy. They taste gross. I have to take some at three today, so troublesome...."  
"Thinking simply, I'll remind you everyday from now on!" I declared, loudly.  
"Can you pass me sleepy ash?" He asked, sitting up and holding his hand out.  
"What's a 'sleepy ash'?" I tilted my head.  
"So troublesome....it's the stuffed cat..."  
"Oh, here you go!" I said giving it to him, he looked at its beady eyes intently, and I looked at him even more intently.  
"Kuro."  
"What, MahiMahi?"  
"Don't call me that!"  
"Whatever Mahiru-Sama."  
"Stop!"  
"Don't shout, it's a such pain to be around loud people."  
"Well- never mind. Anyway, what was your last name?"  
"Servamp."  
"Oh, cool."  
"...Your dad seems nice." Kuro remarked out of nowhere.  
"H-He's not my dad, he's my uncle." I corrected him, for whatever reason, there were tears in the corner of my eyes.  
As I blinked them away I remembered that were we're going to Sakuya's later.  
"Hey, Kuro."  
"What?  
"We're going to my friend's house later! I can't wait for you guys to meet!"   
"What a pain..."


	2. Chapter 2

-Kuro's POV-  
"Sakuya!" Mahiru shouted while his uncle knocked on the door. I had only known him for a few hours and to be honest, I was attached, but he couldn't know that. It'd be too troublesome for the two of us.  
While I was lost in thought, a girl with green hair tied back in twin-tails, opened the door.   
"Good afternoon, Shirota-san. My parents already left." When she said that, I noticed bandages on her lower arm. I remembered when I went to that weird feelings doctor I had seen a girl with bandages on the upper thigh.  
"Please, just Toru is fine." Mahiru's uncle had corrected her. While they talked a green haired boy emerged from behind her.  
"Sakuya! This is my new brother, Kuro." My sibling exclaimed, he almost sounded.... Proud? No way.  
I gave him a slight wave and he dragged us into his room.  
"Mahiru! I've got a new brother too~" Cabbage boy said, Mahiru gasped, and I stared.   
"Now, just how much of that was a lie?" Green-chan did finger guns and Mahiru gently hit him on top of his cabbage patch.  
"Oi, cabbage-chan." I said, grabbing both of their attention.  
"It's Sakuya."  
"Whatever, can I sleep on your bed?"  
"Sure? I guess. Me and Mahiru will stay out here and wait 'til you wake up."   
"Thank you, sakura."  
I walked over to his bed and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.  
-Mahiru's POV-  
That boy really was something, I liked him. He looked peaceful on Sakuya's bed. Sakuya pulled out a pack of cards "Wanna play 'snap'?"   
A few hours later I glanced over at the clock and saw it was seven, uncle would be back soon. I then realised I had something to remember. 'What is it again....'? I thought over and over again.  
"Hey, Mahiru. Want some candy? I know where sis keeps it." Sakuya said out of nowhere. 'Oh right!' I had remembered.  
"One second." I said, walking over to Sakuya and waking him up. He stared up at me with tired eyes and I simply said   
"Tic tac thingies, I forgot to remind you."  
He reached into his jacket pocket and took his medication.  
"Hey! That's not fair! How come Kuro doesn't have to share!" Sakuya shouted, upset.  
"It's not candy, idiot." Kuro remarked, deadpan as usual.  
"Don't make fun of me!"  
Just as Sakuya finished, a car pulled into the driveway.  
"My uncle's here! See you tomorrow, Sakuya!" I hugged Sakuya and Kuro said bye then we thanked his sister for looking after us.  
Once we got in the backseat Kuro miraculously was the first person to speak up.  
"Toru, do I still have to see the weird feelings doctor?"  
My uncles expression softened and he replied with   
"Yep. that's not a problem, is it?"  
Kuro shook his head and looked down. I remembered when I had to talk to a 'feelings doctor' after the car accident, I think Uncle said it was called 'ferappy'.  
As the car came to a stop I noticed we weren't at home. I was about to ask uncle a question when he answered before I could speak.  
"instead of getting cupped ramen, I thought we could eat some proper ramen here instead."   
And in that moment, I thought Kuro's lifeless eyes had almost lit up.  
Almost.  
I smiled.  
When we sat at a table near the back, I noticed at a table next to us, there was a kid in the grade beneath me, I think his name was......Mino...No. That's right! Misono.   
"I know that guy..." Kuro whispered while uncle talked to a waiter.   
"Misono?"I asked.  
"No, the other guy."  
"I thought that was a girl..."  
"No, his name's Lily he was one of my siblings."  
"You don't look related at all."  
"Neither do me and you."  
Before I could retort, Lily noticed Kuro and walked over, leaving Misono confused.   
"Big brother Kuro~" Lily came over and hugged Kuro.  
"Hey Lily."  
"Wait, Kuro, isn't this kid like, way older than you."  
Lily then turned to me.  
"Yes, technically by three years. But, I was the last person to go to the orphanage we used to live in."  
Toru then noticed Lily.  
"Oh? Are you a friend of Kuro's?"  
"Old foster sibling." Kuro answered.  
"Oh. Where's your guardian?" Toru looked at Misono, assuming he was linked to Lily.  
Lily pointed to Misono. "His father asked me to take him to eat tonight."   
My uncle gave him a smile. "You two can eat with us if you'd like."  
"I'll gladly accept your offer." I then heard Lily whisper to him "Also, I'd be happy if Misono could make some friends." He then waved Misono over and the short boy walked over. He looked unsure about sitting with us for some reason.  
"Don't worry, it's not too big of a crowd, is it?" Lily asked him, loud enough for everyone to hear.  
"Don't s-say unnecessary things, L-Lily." He mumbled. He then took a deep breath and sat next to me. He fiddled with his sleeves anxiously as Lily sat next to Kuro.  
After we had all ordered, except Misono. Lily. Began trying to make small talk.   
"So, Kuro. How long have you been with this family?"  
"A few hours." Kuro and I said in sync, we looked at each other.  
"How long have you been with Misono, Lily?" I asked, it was the simplest option to go along with it.  
"Around 6 years now" He smiled.  
"One second guys, I've gotta take a call outside." Uncle Toru suddenly stood up and walked outside. Our conversation continued.  
"Why isn't Misono's father with you?" Kuro asked.  
Misono, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up.  
"Tha-That's none of your business!" He said with misty eyes.  
We went quiet.  
"So uhh... Kuro! How're the others doing?" Lily said, making an attempt at resuscitating our dead conversation.  
"Fine. Hyde and Hugh got families today as well." Kuro yawned.  
"Hugh was 2 or 3 when I got adopted, does he remember me?" Lily had a faraway look in his eyes.  
"Duh, you spent the most time with him. Besides wrath of course."  
Lily chuckled. "There's a reason we called her 'The Mother'."  
While Lily and Kuro continued talking, I turned to Misono.  
-Misono's POV-  
Why was Lily so good with people? I hated crowds, like really hated them. I hated them because my legs would shake and my chest would get all tight. Even in class, I would pull my sleeves. I was smarter than the other kids, I knew that. But I couldn't talk to them, I hated it.  
"Hey, Misono."   
I looked at the boy next to me, he was.... Smiling?   
"What do you want?" I replied in the nicest, happiest possible way.  
"To talk to you of course, I'm Mahiru Shirota." He held out his hand.  
I scoffed.  
"Are you feeling alright?" Crap, he caught me off guard. I narrowed my eyes. I felt terrible and nervous, I knew that.  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I snapped at him. I wanted to go home.  
When everyone's food came. I was ready for that question.  
"Misono, where's your food?"  
That sounded about right.  
"...'m not hungry" I mumbled. It was a semi-obvious lie. I didn't want to eat because I didn't want to get all dizzy and vomit and stuff. I think Hattori said I throw up all the time because of 'emotional stress' or something.   
"Nonsense! Have some of mine." Lily grabbed a napkin and scraped around a quarter of his ramen onto it, I then watched him go get another fork from the counter.  
I could feel that 'Kuro' staring at me.   
'Just what is he thinking? Is he happy? No... Pity? Not that either.... Sympathy! That's it.' I thought.  
After Lily came back so did Shirota's Uncle.  
I tried to eat the food Lily gave me and everyone else talked.  
"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." I stood up.  
"Go ahead, kiddo." Shirota's uncle said in response.  
Instead of walking to the bathrooms, I walked outside and down the street. I needed to get away.  
Not even a block down, I was out of breath. I elected to sit down in an alleyway to avoid joggers and such.  
Then I heard voices from behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

-Kuro's POV-  
"Ah, it's getting late!" Toru put his phone back into his jean pocket.   
"Uncle, we have to wait 'til Misono gets back." Mahiru protested.  
I looked to see if the kid was around somewhere, he wasn't.  
Lily came back, he looked frantic "He's not in the bathrooms." He then put on the most obvious fake smile "I'm sure he just wondered off. Please, don't wait around for us."  
Much to Mahiru's discomfort, his uncle agreed and we all said bye.   
As we walked out the door, I felt Lily grab my arm.  
"You really care about that boy, don't you big brother?" He gave a genuine smile.  
"You're one to talk, you're basically that short kid's guardian."  
"Touché Kuro, touché. You really haven't changed. "  
"Anyway, apparently we go to the same school now. So I'll see you tomorrow, bye Snow Lily."  
"See you soon, Kuro."  
I ran after my new family.  
After Mahiru and I were in pyjamas, we lied down on our bunk beds.  
"Goodnight, Kuro."  
"'Night, MahiMahi."  
-Mahiru's POV-  
I was awoken by a tap on the head.  
"Oi, wake up." I saw red eyes staring at me, I sat up and rubbed my eyes.  
"Something wrong, Kuro?" I whispered.  
"Can't sleep."  
"What? You're always sleeping!"   
He shrugged.  
"You can sit next to me up here with me and talk for a little if you want..."  
Since he was already up on the top bunk with me, I moved over so we could both fit on one end, we sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling.   
"Hey, Mahiru?" He turned to me.  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you... Like, consider me family or something? I mean, I know we've only known each other for a couple of hours and all, but still..."  
I was taken aback. I decided to be honest, it was the simplest option.  
"Well, not exactly..."  
His eyes widened and he looked as if he'd just been shot in the face, or the heart.  
"But like.........Well, It's weird. It's almost like I consider you as more. I mean, you're like family but better, you know?" I continued.  
He paused and then replied, with barely a whisper.  
"Yeah."  
\----------------------------------------------  
The next morning, I awoke to the back of Kuro's head- Did we fall asleep together? I sat up and tapped him on the shoulder.  
"Kuro, wake up. We have school."  
"Whatever." He mumbled back at me.  
I then gave him a shove.  
"You're so cruel, MahiMahi."  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"  
\-----------------------------------------------  
Before I knew it, we were walking to the school.  
"Kuro, It's your first day. Is it really a good idea to wear your jacket over the uniform?"  
"Of course it is, It's a wonderful, comfortable idea. Also my tie is way too tight," He said, sarcasm obvious in his deadpan tone.  
"Here." I loosened his tie for him since he hadn't even been able to tie it himself this morning.  
Since he had been staring at his DS the whole time, it wasn't until we were in the gates that he noticed how big the school was.  
"MahiMahi, why is this school bigger than the entire apartment complex?"  
"Because the elementary. middle and high school are all in the same buildings."  
"Weird, can't deal."  
After we had gotten to class and the teacher had introduced Kuro, it just so happened that there was a seat at the table where Ryusei, Koyuki, Sakuya and I all sat at. Koyuki was pretty excited to have a new addition to our group and Ryusei was happy to meet him, but they both seemed a bit intimidated by his aura.  
Sakuya just glared.  
"You look tired." Ryuusei said out of nowhere.  
"Thanks." Kuro yawned.  
"He didn't mean it like that, please don't get upset!" Koyuki tried to apologise.  
"I wasn't upset-" Kuro clarified, but Sakuya cut him off, what was his problem today?  
"Hey, did you guys know the blonde guy with the hat in year 8 and the kid with paper bags on his head in year 9 are having a party together tonight? My sister got invited, and so did I!" Sakuya tried changing the subject.  
"Really? That's so cool!" Koyuki smiled.  
"I lied."  
I hit him on the back of his head, the teacher looked at me, but saw that we were both laughing and she smiled.   
Our teacher then begun handing out math worksheets, and a collective groan was heard throughout the class  
 Some kid  then came through the door and gave the teacher a note that was enclosed in an envelope, the teacher opened it and frowned.  
"Could Kuro Servamp and Mahiru Shirota please go to the Deputy Principal?"  
I froze, were we in trouble or something? I didn't think we had done anything, but still.  
Kuro and I did as we were told and we walked together, trying to figure out what we had done.  
We (I, Kuro was busy twiddling his thumbs), knocked on the door and the deputy opened it.  
"Don't look so upset Mahiru-kun, you two aren't in trouble." He gave a smile.  
Walking into the room I saw a police officer and....Lily?  
Kuro (Who was equally as confused.) sat with me on the couch. Looking at Lily, I noticed he looked distressed, and he wasn't smiling like usual, he was on the phone.  
"Mahiru, Kuro- I'm afraid we have some bad news." The deputy began, he sat in his chair and leaned forward.   
I took hold of Kuro's sleeve out of instinct, he didn't even pull away.  
"I don't mean to alarm you, but last night your 'friend' Misono went missing, and we fear it might've been an abduction."  
My pupils dilated.   
"No way." I whispered.  
"You and Kuro were two of the last people to see him, we already talked to your uncle. Do you know where he might've planned on going? Or where he went?" The police officer was talking to us now, a pitiful look in his eyes.  
"H-he said he was going to the bathroom at the restaurant..." I attempted to talk. I barely new Misono, but my eyes were damp.  
The officer frowned. "Lily mentioned that."  
"Please, don't worry too much. Statistically speaking, your friend is more than likely alive and well. He probably just got lost." The deputy attempted to 'lighten' the mood.  
I looked back at Lily, he had bags under his red, puffy eyes.  
"We're aware that this might be stifling for the two of you, so we called your uncle to come pick you two up, Lily will also be joining you." I lost my composure at hearing that. I was there when Misono went missing, and I couldn't offer any useful information whatsoever, and here I was, about to have a day off school. Tears were in the corners of my eyes, I looked over at Kuro he just looked shocked, I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as me.  
When my uncle arrived, Lily, Kuro and I got in the car without even greeting him. It was clear that he was aware of the situation, and he probably didn't want awkward conversation between the four of us, but he still broke the silence.   
"So, Lily. If you want to come back to our house, that's perfectly fine. Okay? I know about your problems with Misono's father." My uncle gave him a warm smile.   
Lily attempted to smile back and nodded. I stared at my feet and Kuro looked pretty puzzled, we all were. How did Misono go missing when we were right there?  
"Also, I know  it might be hard for you boys to just sit back and pretend everything's fine while your friend is missing, because this just isn't that simple. So, if you feel up to it, the three of you can have a look for him if you want." I looked up at him, was he really going to let us?  
"Really, can we?" I asked.  
"Of course. But I have to work, so you three absolutely HAVE to stay together and be alert, I'll drop you off in town."

-Misono's POV-  
I woke up.  
It was so dark, I couldn't see a thing, it was cold and I was leaning against what felt like concrete.  
I had no idea where I was.  
I tried to recall what had happened, and I began mumbling "...I was out for a walk to clear my head....? Then I sat in the alleyway....." I trailed off.  
Everything past then was a blur to me.   
As the reality of the situation suddenly kicked in, I felt myself beginning to panic. I noticed that my hands weren't bound or anything, I was just in a confined space, so I reached into my pocket, to find my medication.  
"Dammit, wh-where are my pills..." My breathing was ragged as I realised all my stuff was gone. Above me, a lightbulb flickered on. It appeared that I was in some kind of a bathroom, judging by the sink and mirror. I walked to the door and pulled the handle, it was locked. There were no windows, and there was a somewhat boarded up air vent.  
"Figures.." I mumbled to nobody in particular.  
I then saw myself in the mirror, I had marks all over my face not just bruises, and I was in a singlet instead of my uniform shirt. I also had hand.....and...'other' marks on my arms. I lifted up my singlet a little, and my stomach and waist were the same. Had I really been unconscious? I felt gross for some reason.  
I then heard what sounded like arguing and shouting from outside, and I pressed my ear against the door.  
"We can't just keep him here! His parents are probably looking for him."  
"You two can't just keep grabbing kids off the streets and not expecting investigations to take place, if this kid goes missing... Shit, they're already suspicious of us anyway."  
"Maybe we wouldn't of grabbed him if you didn't kill the last one!"  
All of them sounded way older, if I had to have guess I would've said they were about mid thirties to late forties. Just what the hell were they talking about? I backed away from the door, trying to process everything. Questions ran through my head. 'Who are these people?' 'What did they do to me?' 'How am I gonna get out of here?' Is Lily already looking for me?' 'Where am I?' 'How did I get here?'  
'Am I going to die?'  
I heard their voices again.  
"Do you think he even remembers our faces?"  
"I'll give him something else to remember."  
Then there was laughter, not the kind I wanted to hear.  
The door opened, I saw a man with hair obscuring his face and the light  was  turned off.


	4. Chapter 4

-Kuro's POV-  
Honestly, we all knew too well that there was no way that kid was still just 'hanging around somewhere in town'. It was as if we were just in denial or something. Mahiru was trying to keep calm and convince himself that Misono was okay, while Lily was just an absolute mess. We had decided to check isolated areas since Lily made a pretty obvious claim that Misono didn't like crowds.   
As we turned the corner on an alleyway, we saw an older looking blonde boy, he was wearing a hat ( as well as a bunch of other weird clothes) and carrying a doll.  
"MIkuni?" Lily's eyes became the size of dinner plates.  
"You're that kid from Year 9, why're you here?" Mahiru questioned, meddlesome as always. I elected to just stay quiet.  
"Well, once I heard my baby brother went missing, I decided to skip school and look for the brat. My 'pal' Jeje is also somewhere around here too." He smiled, I didn't like it. Lily and I glanced at each other at the mention of our brother's name.  
"Misono's your brother? That can't be right, I never see you guys walking home together or anything." I pitied the confused look on Mahiru's face, not everyone gets along with their siblings, Mahiru.  
"How'd you find out?" Lily narrowed his eyes. How did someone not find out their sibling's missing? Is all I could really think.  
"Well, you told Jeje and Jeje told me in class this morning." He looked surprisingly calm about the situation.   
"Anyway, Lily, you and these kids should go home now, you're not gonna find him."  
"How can you say that? He's your brother for crying out loud!" Mahiru practically screamed. I gave him that 'shut up!' look.  
"It's not that I don't care, quite the opposite. I just know he's not here, so go home or look for him where you'll actually find the kid." Hat-san looked serious, almost scary.  
-6 hours later-  
Here Mahiru and I were again, sitting on his bed talking about our 'feelings', gross. Lily was sitting on my bed, I think he said something about the fact that he didn't want to face Misono's father.  
"It's my fault.." He looked down and covered his face, this would be troublesome.  
I put my hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. There's no possible way that it can be. Mahiru. he'll be fine. I promise." Honestly, I knew it wasn't his fault. But, at the same time I didn't think he'd be completely fine. I was 70% sure he was at least alive. After Mahiru had fallen asleep, I decided that it would be a good time to talk to my brother.  
"Lily, are you awake?" I whispered to avoid waking Mahiru up.  
"Yes? What is it?" His voice cracking.  
"Do.... You think Hyde knows that a kid went missing?"  
"No, there's no way he could."  
"Did they ever even catch the guys who took him and her?"  
"I don't think so, some jogger just found him asleep in the forest and.. That girl's body a few metres away."  
"Should we tell him that someone went missing?"  
"Definitely not, it'd probably bring back some bad memories."  
We were quiet for a moment.

"I'm gonna try and sleep, you should too."  
I had sleepy ash in my arms. Sure, maybe I was nearing the age where I was beginning to get too old for stuffed animals, but sentimental value overpowered that.  
When our 'Father' took us in, he gave each of us an item to do with an animal. Lily has a necklace with a pink butterfly on it, I have sleepy ash, Hyde has a ring with a hedgehog on it, and everyone else has something too.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next morning, Mahiru's uncle let us have a day off school and he went to work. Lily left early, saying he was going to ask around. The bags under Lily and Mahiru's eyes were almost darker than mine, I figured they mustn't have slept, neither did I.   
Mahiru and I were currently sitting on the couch, I was eating cupped ramen while he (tried) to take his mind off things by watching some cartoon. Every now and again, he'd ask a random question, I don't even think he knew that he was doing it.  
"Do you think they'll find him?"  
"Was he abducted by someone we know?"  
He was beginning to become a pain. It's not that I didn't like Misono or anything, even though he was a rich brat. I just didn't want to think about the whole thing, before I knew it, I was asleep on the couch.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------  
I was seven years old again.  
I'm at that funeral.  
Hyde's next to me, bawling his eyes out.  
I recalled everything.  
Hyde and his friend had been abducted.   
He'd survived.  
But she didn't.  
I put my hand on his shoulder, he slapped it away.  
I'd remembered those two weeks while Hyde was missing, and how Lily and Jeje had even taken a break from the Alicein family to look around.  
Everyone, including our 'Father' was frantic, except Hugh. I don't think he even knew what was going on.   
After we got that call, that said a jogger had found him, I almost cried out of happiness, we all did.  
But Hyde was just different after that. It was like that girl dying had made him crack or something.  
\--------------------------------------------------------  
Then, I woke up.  
"Kuro? Can you cook?" Mahiru was looking down at me.  
"Nope." I was honest, I couldn't cook anything.  
Mahiru's eyes lit up and he smiled. Had he forgotten about the current situation?   
"I'll teach you! I can only make simple recipes though, like eggs and stuff." He pulled me off of the couch.  
\-----------------------------------  
"And then you stir it like this..."He was demonstrating how to make pasta. I was trying to listen, but my video game was just so much more interesting.  
After Mahiru's lesson, we ate pasta under the kotatsu, I noted that we were starting to get into the colder part of the year.  
I realised I hadn't actually looked around Mahiru's place much. I saw a few paintings, some pictures of Mahiru and his uncle and.. A photo of a woman with brown hair holding what looked like a four or five year old Mahiru. I frowned.   
I then looked at the clock, it was four in the afternoon, I took my medication out, I'd have to be more careful about remembering to check the time.  
"Oh and- Sakuya and his sister are coming over today." I heard Mahiru say. I practically choked on my pasta, cabbage patch was the last person I needed to see today, seriously.  
Because God hates me, Sakuya arrived a little while after Mahiru said that.  
While his sister watched TV, Side curl, Mahiru and I sat on the rug in our room.  
"Hey Sakuya, you know the kid with the purple hair in year four?" I internally face-palmed, was Mahiru really going to tell this kid about an abduction of another student? Rumours would probably spread like wildfire after this, what a moron.  
"The rich brat? Yeah I know him."Sakuya looked almost....jealous?  
"He went missing the other day."  
"What?"  
After Mahiru told Sakuya everything, his uncle came home and a few hours later Sakuya and his sister went back to their house.  
After dinner, Mahiru was having a bath while I talked to Lily on the phone.  
"Are you staying here again tonight? Mahiru's uncle said it's okay." Honestly, even though Lily was a few years older than me, I still thought of him as my younger brother. And I personally didn't really want him wandering around the streets late at night, even though I wasn't quite at the Momhiru level of mother hen.  
\--------------------------------------------------------  
-Misono's POV-  
I hadn't been unconscious that time, I wish I was.   
I was still in that room. I think I heard them talk about how they had 'caught' someone else I think  their name  was Otogiri or something.  
Honestly, I was half begging to survive, and half begging to die at that point.  
I just wanted to see a face that was familiar.  
I wanted to see Lily's bright eyes.  
I wanted to see Shirota's smile.  
I wanted to see Kuro's pale complexion.  
I wanted to see that tall blockhead ask for help on a math problem as he sat next to me.  
I wanted to see my mother's blonde flowing hair.  
I wanted to hear my father claim to love me, even when he couldn't even bother to say goodnight .  
Hell, I wanted to feel my brother's arms around me, and saying everything would be alright.  
I'd take whatever I could get.  
It was freezing, and I was tired. But I didn't dare to fall asleep while I could still hear voices behind that door.


	5. Chapter 5

-Mahiru's POV-  
A few days had passed, then a week.  
Lily still hadn't gone home, and nobody had found any trace of Misono, another girl in an older year had also gone missing, but was found a few days later. She said she couldn't remember any faces.  
Kuro and I had grown relatively closer, considering the circumstances, and my uncle didn't let us leave the house by ourselves or without Lily. But we did anyway one night, a few days before that gir- Otogiri, had gone missing.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------  
"What're you even doing?" Kuro yawned.  
"I'm fixing our alarm clock." Or at least, attempting to. I was surprisingly unskilled with a screwdriver.  
"I'm hungry..... Can we go get food?" He was putting on his jacket.  
"Well, Uncle said not to leave without Lily but, we'll only be a minute. Right?" I set the screwdriver onto the table and we left.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------  
"What do you wanna get, Kuro?" I turned to him, his pace was slowing.  
"I don't know, ramen?" His eyes were wandering.  
I chuckled. I should've known, he always wanted ramen.  
We paused when we saw a five dollar note on the ground, Kuro leaned down to pick it up.  
"We shouldn't take it!" I stopped him. He raised an eyebrow, quizzically.  
"I-It might belong to somebody." My mom had always told me to wait and see if somebody would claim something that appeared to be lost, and as if on cue, we heard a voice behind us.  
"Crap! That's mine! Hurry up, Angel-chan!"   
I whipped around I saw a boy with blonde hair (dyed at the tips), glasses and a black scarf waving in the air behind him. He was dragging another kid with black hair (with a white streak) who was wearing a backpack with......... wings?  
"Hyde?" Kuro knitted his eyebrows.   
"Ah! Big brother!" The blonde boy, who I assumed was Hyde, smiled.  
He bear-hugged Kuro, and the other kid stared at me.  A few introductions later, we were all walking back with ramen. From what I could tell, Hyde was a somewhat psychotic joker who liked Will Milkshake or whatever and Licht was a delusional kid who thought he was a literal angel.   
"Hey, you guys wanna eat at the park? I know it's dark and stuff but there are streetlamps!" Hyde's grin somehow got bigger, Licht kicked him in the back of his knee, while Hyde whined about how much it hurt, a thought occured to me.  
"I don't think it's a good idea, with the child abduc-" Kuro elbowed me and his eyes pierced through me, did I do something wrong?  
"Huh? What?" Hyde looked back at me.  
"Wild animals." Kuro snapped.  
"Haha!You're so silly, big brother! But if you're scared of bunnies and stuff, we'll go our separate ways from here."  
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
-Kuro's POV-  
Mahiru and I walked in silence, but then we heard a voice.  
"Hi there~" I turned around and saw a kid, a little older than me with black hair and sunglasses. For whatever reason, I slightly pushed Mahiru behind me.  
"What do you want?" I glared at him, he began laughing.  
"Ahahahaha!............. Not interesting at all. Say, Brother. You haven't seen a girl with short hair and red eyes around here, have you?" He covered his mouth with his sleeve. Brother? What the hell was this kid talking about.  
"...Did he say Brother? Kuro, Is he one of your-" Mahiru whispered to me, I cut him off.  
"No, I've never seen this guy before in my life." It was true, I really had no idea who he was.  
"That reaaally hurts me, none of my siblings know who I am...." He mocked sadness.  
I grabbed Mahiru's arm.  
"We gotta go, come on. This kid's bad news." I spoke with seriousness, he didn't object. That guy just waved as we half-ran away.  
"Crap, Uncle's probably gonna get home before home since we hung out with Licht and Hyde." Mahiru scratched the back of his neck.  
"Don't worry, we just have to get inside. Now." I kept looking behind us, something didn't feel right. On my fifth glance. I saw a van with tinted windows slowing to a halt. Addrenaline rushed through me, I began to run, shouting at Mahiru to follow me. The van stopped, and someone got out. Mahiru had tears in his eyes, he was visibly panicing, it was so late that nobody except us was outside. Crap, this was bad, really bad.  
I had longer legs than Mahiru so I was running a little faster.  
That's probably why the man grabbed Mahirus arm first. He screamed, and it hurt my ears.  
I had always been too lazy to cut my nails so they were somewhat longer, I never thought I could use them to save a life. I jumped back and practically scratched the man's eyes and arms so much they started bleeding, it was his turn to yell, as he let go of Mahiru.  
"You fucking-!"   
I wasn't going to stick around, this time I was pulling Mahiru and looking straight ahead. My heart hadn't stopped racing until we got in the door.  
I couldn't see Mahiru's uncle anywhere, so I began locking every door and shutting all the blinds, Mahiru was looking through the peephole to make sure nobody was coming.  
We then saw a message on the answering machiene, I pressed the button.  
"Hey kiddos! I'm not gonna be home until tomorrow, but there's food in the fridge. Oh and, Lily should be back by 4 in the morning, look after each other, 'kay?"   
Crap. We were alone.  
We then heard loud banging on the door. I covered Mahirus mouth so he wouldn't scream.  
"Hey there, can I come in?" It was an older mans voice.  
'Is this what happened to Misono?' I thought. No, I wouldn't ever let that happen, not to Mahiru  
I began slowly and quietly leading Mahiru up the stairs.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
We were under my bed, we knew the man outside could easily break down the door, and he did eventually. There were three of them now, and they were looking downstairs. I was against the wall, and Mahiru was making a poor attempt at looking out from underneath our hiding place.  
"Kuro, maybe I should go downstairs and grab the phone so we can call the police?" Mahiru whispered. I face palmed, why didn't I think of that?  
"No, they'll see you, LIly will be back soon anyway." It was true, but we were screwed until then. 

We heard footsteps, and I stifled, and signalled to Mahiru to keep quiet.  
A man walked in, he was opening cupboards.  
I realised Mahiru was breathing loud enough for him to hear, and I covered his mouth again with one hand, and held his other.   
We heard footsteps exit the room, and we sighed.  
Mahiru screamed right next to me, someone was pulling on his leg. I desperately tried grabbing both his hands, and he tried kicking the man.  
Everything was happening too fast, I was still under the bed and more people were coming upstairs. I got out and tried punching one of them in the face, even though he was wearing a mask (they all were) and all we could see was their dead eyes, but all it did was hurt my hand while one of them punched me on the left side of my face, and Mahiru was just trying to avoid getting knocked out.   
Then, I saw it. There was still a screwdriver on the bedside table.  
I grabbed it, and with little hesitation, drove it into one of their eyes. The other two ran towards me. I was, in the words of my father, utterly dead.  
The two of them were pulled back and hit the ground, Lily behind them.   
My brother ran up to Mahiru and I, ignoring the men behind us running out of the house, and hugged us both.  
I kept looking past his shoulder, Mahiru just cried.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
The three of us, plus Mahiru's uncle were sitting down with the police.  
Mahiru still had misty eyes, and he had a large bruise on his arm.  
"Do you remember what any of them looked like?" A female officer leaned down at Mahiru.  
"No. They were wearing masks." I answered for him.   
The interview proved to be useless, but they concluded that it was likely the same people who abducted Misono and Otogiri. as well as Hyde and his friend all those years ago.  
Lily told us that pretty much the whole school knew about kids going missing, even after Otogiri came back pretty much fine, everyone was on edge, even some of the younger kids.  
We also found that they target boys specifically, and they keep them there for an amount of time, but they usually survive (but they have serious trauma.)And they thought Otogiri was a boy due to her short hair, but that didn't explain why Hyde's friend got killed.  
But something else did.  
The night after, Lily was staying with Wrath. Mahiru couldn't sleep, so he would have to use sleeping pills for a while. I pitied him. Taking tablets every day could be bothersome, I mean, I know they help but..... They still sucked. Lily had let it slip one day that Misono had to have pills for anxiety, and I wasn't all that surprised, but at the same time, I felt bad for him.   
After I could hear Mahiru's breathing even out, I tried to fall asleep myself.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It was one day after her funeral, Hyde and I were sitting in our shared room.  
"It's my fault!"  
"I made them angry so they killed her instead of me!"  
"It should've been me!"  
"Why couldn't it have been me...."  
Listening to Hyde like this was pure torture, I felt sick just thinking about what must've happened to him.  
He must've been sitting in that room with her dead body in the dark for so long.  
He said they did things to him that he didn't understand.  
Then, we were in the waiting room for the feelings doctor.  
Hyde and I had separate appointments, for different things. He was scared, and he kept going on about how 'they're going to take him back there'. I tried my best to tell him that wasn't true, while our Father just sat there, pretending one of his seven year old 'kids' wasn't freaking out.   
\--------------------------------------------------------------------  
I woke up when I heard screaming above me, and sighed. Was Mahiru having a nightmare? I couldn't blame him, I mean, I was just having one too.  
I got out of bed and climbed up to his, he was thrashing around, and I tried tapping his shoulder.  
"Hey, MahiMah-" I was cut off by him kicking me in the stomach, it didn't hurt that much though.  
I shook him before he could kick me again and his eyes shot open, he looked up at me and started......Crying?  
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry..." He kept repeating (and sobbing), over and over again.  
"For what?" I said in an attempt.  
"Wh-Why do people always get hurt saving me?" He sniffled.  
I was confused, he was still half asleep.  
"My-" He paused when his voice  cracked.  
"Mom..." I frowned when I heard that.  
"And y-you got a bruise on your face now.." He continued.  
I was tearing up a little now.  
"Like I care about a dumb mark, it wasn't your fault anyways." I sat next to him, and with some effort, fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

-Kuro's POV-  
"It's advised that children in the area catch the bus to school, and have a guardian while waiting  at the bus stop." The lady on the TV said, as if speaking to me. Mahiru's uncle was on the couch while we were sitting on the rug. Mahiru was doing his school project. Well, it was mine too. But he said that he didn't mind doing all the work, and that was an absolute golden opportunity for me.  
We missed one day of school, considering what had happened, but I didn't see how that made a difference.  
The experience had phased me, but not as much as him.  
Mahiru didn't deserve to have that kind of thing on his mind, nobody did. But he really didn't.  
"Can you pass me that?" He said, barely a whisper as he pointed to a pen on the floor.  
I handed it to him absentmindedly. He looked exhausted, more than me. From what I could tell, he kept waking up throughout the night, refusing to take the dumb sleeping pills for whatever reason.  
At least he had a definite outlook on the situation.  
I really didn't know what to think, I mean. Those people knew where we lived, and Mahiru's uncle still had to work until early in the morning on most nights. Lily wasn't staying with us anymore, he was back at Misono's house, even though he didn't really want to be.  
People were starting to assume the worst about what'd happened to the kid, he'd been missing for roughly two weeks and there was next to no trace of him anywhere.  
While I barely knew him, I did know that he was a good person, I mean, if Lily liked him, he had to be.  
I jumped when the phone rang. Mahiru's uncle got up and came back a few seconds later with the phone in his hand, pressed to his ear.  
"So. What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Mrs.Watanuki?"  
His eyes widened, both Mahiru and I were looking at him.  
"Your daughter what?"  
"Oh my God, we'll be right over!"   
He hung up and rushed Mahiru and I to the car.  
"Uncle, what's going on?" Mahiru sounded uncomfortable while his Uncle sped through the town, I waited for him to answer.  
"Sakuya's sister she-" He paused for a moment.  
"She fell off the balcony while her and Sakuya were playing." Mahiru and I stiffened, what the hell?  
When we got there, Sakuya and his parents were talking to the police, something felt... Off.  
His parents seemed almost as if they were actors, and I could tell Sakuya was definitely hiding something.   
We weren't really supposed to stay, so we had to leave.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"So much stuff is happening lately around here!" One of Mahiru's friends said (The blonde short one) while we were waiting for the teacher to arrive.  
The door opened and it wasn't the teacher, it was... Sakuya? Why the hell was he at school today? Did anyone else know? Or was it just me and Mahiru?   
"Hey guys!" Sakuya sat in a seat, giving us the fakest smile I had ever seen.  
I'll be honest, I didn't really like Sakuya very much. That didn't stop me from feeling pitiful though, I looked around. Nobody, not even Mahiru saw anything abnormal about him. Were they really that dense?  
During lunch, Ryusei and Koyuki went to the cafeteria, and I had no idea where Sakuya went.  
"Can we eat in here today?" I asked Mahiru while I got a cup of plain ramen noodles out of my bag.  
"Sure, and do you wanna go get some hot water for that?" He nodded, pointing to my food.  
"Nah, It's too much trouble. I'll eat it raw." I broke it apart with my hands, it wasn't that bad.  
"They're in here Angel-chan~" I saw Hyde dragging Licht into our classroom, and they sat with us.  
"Brother~ Why did you repeat a year anyway? It's boring without you in my class." Hyde whined, loud enough for the entire county to hear.  
"So that the work's easier." It wasn't a complete lie.  
My brother laughed in response.  
"Also, my favourite gloomy piano player is having a concert tonight at the community centre! It's to raise money for the animal shelter, Licht's such an angel!" He said out of nowhere, and in response he was given a punch on the shoulder.  
I sighed.  
"I guess we'll come." I could tell Hyde was trying to repress a lot, and I kinda wanted to make him happy, shut up.  
"At least ask me first.. But I guess we can go." Mahiru turned to me.  
"Eh? Mahi, it's like your his mom or something. Mamahiru! Mamahiru!" Hyde chanted, I almost chuckled a little.  
"What? Don't call me that!" MahiMahi pleaded.  
"Stupid Hyde. Momhiru sounds better." Licht 'corrected' him.  
"Also, I found this ball. I don't want it. And Hyde doesn't deserve it." He then handed a red handball to Mahiru.  
"Uh, thanks? I guess." Mahiru mumbled, fiddling with the ball.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After lunch, the day flew by.  
"I'll have to walk you both there, okay?" Mahiru's uncle said in response to us asking about Licht's performance. We nodded, it was probably for the best. The street wasn't exactly safe at night.  
 As the three of us entered the large hall, I reached my hands into my pockets and felt around for my meds, I face palmed. I must've dropped them outside. I told Mahiru's uncle and he said that he would save me a seat.  
I walked back outside and looked around on the floor, and someone tapped me on the shoulder.  
I whipped around, it was Lily. Holding my medicine up. Thank God. I then noticed he had one hand behind his back, as if he was hiding something.  
"Thanks.." I took the pills out of his hand.   
"What's behind your back?"  I wasn't wasting time.  
I must've caught him off guard, because he looked like a little kid who just got in trouble for breaking a window.  
He was holding a cigarette.  
Hell no.  
"Why are you still smoking? You told me that you promised Misono that you'd stop." I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes at him.  
"I'm just stressed, okay?" He snuffed it out on the wall.  
He sighed, I then noticed the dark, dark circles under his eyes. I mean, they were worse than mine.  
Then, it clicked.  
"Lily, you did sleep at the Alicein's for the past few days. Right?" I half-growled.  
"I..." He trailed off, oh no.  
"I-I couldn't face them, alright? I gave my money to some guy so that he'd buy me more cigarettes, but he ran off with them. So, I turned to other ways to get money." He didn't meet my eyes, I really hoped that he wasn't implying what I thought he was.  
I raised an eyebrow.  
"Idiot, you're staying with us tonight." I sighed. I decided not to make a big deal out of it in public.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------  
-Mahiru's POV-  
After Licht's somewhat 'angelic' performance was over. Lily was staying with us again and the four of us were walking through the barely illuminated town.  
I was bouncing the ball Licht gave me along the sidewalk, but I didn't hit it at one point and it rolled down the river bank, but I didn't hear a splash.  
"One second, I'll go get it." I walked down the slope, the grass was taller than my knees and there was only a bit of light, but I could see my ball near where the grass was shorter and I began making my way towards it, when I tripped over something, or someone.  
I couldn't really see them, but they were small and lying on their side. I could hear uneven wheezing.  
"I-I'm so sorry!" I waited for a response.  
I was getting concerned, and everyone was staring at me from up at the pavement.  
I turned the small person onto their back, and I saw them clearly, my eyes widened as I saw their battered body, a noise escaped my mouth. Not quite a scream, my throat was dry.  
I recognised him, it was Misono.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for all previous chapters I copied and pasted from my wattpad, I didn't bother adding bold or italics. But I did this time.

**-Kuro's POV-**

Once we saw Misono lying there, with Mahiru shouting at us, I thought he was dead for sure. I turned to Lily in an instant, he was frozen. He had  obvious tears in his red eyes, Mahiru's uncle was on the phone to some emergency service.

We all kneeled over his body, well, Lily had given him his jacket (which was _at least_ twice his size) and was picking him up. A few pedestrians had stopped to see what was going on, a few more rushed towards us, confused.

Misono was alive, but not yet conscious. I think the doctor said he had been knocked out.

It irked me that bit took Misono's _father_ three hours to get to the hospital, considering the bar- I mean, tavern he was at, Was only thirty minutes away.

It was late, one in the morning I think, when we left the hospital, Lily had somehow convinced a nurse into letting him stay instead of his Dad.

**\------------------------------------------------------------------**

**-Lily's POV-**

The chair next to his bed in the children's ward was somewhat comfortable, the situation was not.  
I couldn't even look at him, I felt almost responsible.  
He was not only beaten and had cuts all over his back, he was also sick. And we didn't even know what psychological trauma had occurred.  
I closed my eyes for a split second.  
"Is he asleep?" Somebody had said. I sighed from relief when I saw Mikuni standing in the room.  
"Yeah, how'd you know he was here?" I whispered.  
"Heard sirens, came to investigate. Saw you, him and those two. Followed the ambulance. Snuck in after a while." When he said that, I noticed Jeje in the shadows and gave a slight wave.  
"Your Father was just here, you know?" Mikuni was lucky that he had avoided him.  
"I know, I saw that asshole's shitty car leave."  
I frowned.  
"You really shouldn't talk about your Dad like that, Mikuni...." His eyes landed on Misono as I said that.  
"I don't care, he betrayed my Mom. It's all his fault.. " I didn't like the obvious anger in his voice.

" _Mikuni_ , he did that to your mom over nine years ago, and you only left the house three years ago. Try and be less resentful, please."

"Either way, Jeje and I over here will leave before the nurse comes back. See you." He didn't take his eyes off his brother until he left with Jeje trailing behind him, I couldn't blame him.

At around three AM, I heard stirring from my left. I put my phone down and I saw Misono attempt to sit up, using his arms to lift himself. Only to fall down again.

My eyes were misty, I'd call the nurse later.

I stood up and tapped the top of his head, (his shoulder was injured) and his eyes struggled to open. At first he looked dazed, and then he fixed his gaze onto something.

"L-Lily...? Where am... I? Where- are _they_?" He only just managed to whisper, as if it took most of his strength.

I smiled, and hugged him. He winced from the pain in his ribs. 

"You're in the hospital, I'll go get a nurse." I turned to walk away, but he still looked confused.

"Don't l-leave me alone! Please!" He sounded frantic,  but his voice was still quiet.

"You're safe, _I promise_." Just how many times had I said that since I met him?

A moment later, a nurse had followed me into his room. Now that I knew someone was looking after him, I could finally close my eyes, I fell asleep almost the second I sat in the chair.

**\-------------------------------------------------------------**

**-Misono's POV-**

I hated doctors, or nurses. _Whatever_.

I was half dazed and half panicked after Lily fell asleep and a nurse was talking to me. At first I wouldn't answer any of her questions, but I eventually started give an occasional short answer, or moving my head. I couldn't really keep  my eyes open, but I didn't want to sleep. For the past weeks I either hadn't slept or kept having nightmares.  I'd rather not sleep.

I tried to sit up again, but my arms couldn't lift me properly, and I fell back onto the bed.

"You have to rest, sweetie. I'll turn the TV off for you." The nurse smiled, did she think I was a little kid or something? I didn't bother replying.

I desperately tried to stay awake, but I couldn't.

**\------------------------------------------------------------**

**_I looked through the door, he was standing there, looking at me. Jeje behind him. My eyes wandered downwards, Mom was lying beneath them, but she wasn't moving. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief._ **

**_"... 'Kuni? Wh-What's goin' on?" I said, six year old me not being able to pronounce his brother's name._ **

**_"I-I......... She......" He mumbled._ **

**\-----------------------------------------------------------**

I woke up in a cold sweat, and I looked around. Lily was still there and asleep, so that meant things were okay. Looking to my right, I saw Shirota and Kuro standing there, Mahiru was clutching a few flowers that I recognised from my garden, and he looked like he was on the verge of  tears but he was smiling.

"What're... You doing here?" I mumbled, I wasn't fully awake.

"We came to see you! Isn't it obvious? Are you okay?" He was smiling more now.

"Well, I am in the hospital-"I began, His expression began to drop slightly.

"-But..... I'm perfectly fine." I blatantly lied. I felt pain almost everywhere and I was desperately trying to repress more memories of the past two weeks than I was capable of. He walked over and... Hugged me? What the hell? I really wasn't used to that kind of thing. The only people who had ever done  that were Lily, my brother, my Mom and I _think_ my Dad did when I was little.

I winced in pain because of my ribs, but then Kuro joined our 'hug'. He didn't say anything.

I was confused, to say the least. And I almost felt somewhat happy, so why was I crying?

I regained my composure.

 _"Shouldn't you guys be at school_?" I huffed, Lily chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, but we came to see you first. That's what _friends_ are for." Mahiru grinned.

 ** _What_**.

"I'm your friend?" I almost whispered the last part.

"Obviously." He looked at me like I was the stupidest person on earth, the idiot.

 **\-------------------------------------------------**  
Talking to police could be exhausting, especially when you had almost no useful information to give them. They kept talking to me in that annoying 'adult speaking to a seven year old' voice. Granted, I was only a couple of years older than seven. But it still ticked me off.

It made me feel useless when I couldn't remember any faces. But I could vaguely remember a few voices. I tried to forget everything that'd happened, but I was unsuccessful.

Lily bought me a few books from home, which kind of took my mind off things. He also got me some more anxiety pills or whatever.

"What exactly is this?" I poked at the rubbery 'mashed potatoes'.

Lily laughed a little. " _Hospital food_ , Misono."

It looked revolting, but I felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks, which was partially true (I only got a few slices of bread while I was in that room.) and. the doctor said I was a bit 'malnourished' So I chewed on a bit, and at first it was the best thing in the world. But then I wanted to vomit.

I still ate all of it.

That night, I noticed Lily still hadn't left. Not that I minded,(I was less scared when he was around.) but I didn't want him stuck in that chair until I was discharged.

"Uhm, Lily. You... know you can go home, right? I'll be fine here." I tried to convince him, he saw right through me.

"Don't worry, I plan on waiting until you're out of this place. I wouldn't want you to be alone here." He smiled.

**\------------------------------------------------**

I watched the TV until around eight, because then I was starting to get really tired. 

Apparently, I'd be able to leave the hospital in three days. Which I was happy about since I thought I might be able to do something on Halloween. My father hadn't visited since I woke up. But he did call, which I guess was nice. Mahiru and Kuro also gave me a present that I still hadn't opened, it'd be too embarrassing.


	8. Chapter 8

**-Kuro's POV-**

"Crap. We're already super late!" Mahiru whined, picking up the pace while we walked along the street. I exhaled to show my obvious annoyance.

"And it's _your_ fault! _Seriously_ , you need to get ready faster in the morning." He finished and I rolled my eyes, it wasn't my fault that my best jacket got dirty.

When we walked up the stairs the bell rung, and we saw someone familiar.

"Misono! You're out of the hospital already?" Mahiru ran up to him.

" _Obviously_. You two should get to class." I noticed that his left foot was slightly raised.

"Oi, what's with the limp?" I asked, as I was genuinely curious.

"I... I _tripped_ , on the way here." The liar.

"Do you need help getting to class?" Momhiru grabbed his arm, softly.

"I can walk on my own!" He slapped Mahiru's hand away.

I signalled to Mahiru that we should get to our own class before we passed the five minute mark.

**\--------------------------------------------------------------**

After we sat down, I noticed that some kids were all talking about Halloween.

Mahiru turned to me, excited in the stupidest way. "What do you wanna go as?" He smiled.

"I don't really want t-" He cut me off.  
"You can go as a panda or a cat!" His eyes lit up, I was going to say something but I didn't wanna ruin his day, so I nodded. Shut up.

"I'm gonna go as batman!" I choked when he said that, definitely not what I expected.

"Kidding!" He finished, I sighed.

"Then what're you going as?" I was curious.

"A ghost."  
"... Seriously?"  
"Seriously."

"Why?"  
"It's an easy costume."

I shrugged, fair enough.

**\---------------------------------------------------------------**

After the final bell rang, we saw Lily and Misono walking so we ran up to them.

"Don't you guys normally get driven home?" I was straight forward, no reason for dancing on thin ice.

"We thought we'd get some gelato on the way home, wanna tag along?" Lily answered while Misono didn't acknowledge us. Mahiru politely declined his offer and we walked past the park.

"It's still light out, wanna go on the swings for a little?" Mahiru stopped walking and pointed. It wasn't dark yet, but the sky was already an orange colour.

I shrugged, and he took that as a yes.

There were other kids around, but it still felt quiet. Mahiru stood up on his swing and I closed my eyes while I swayed back and forward. I heard him swing up pretty high along with a short scream and the sound of him hitting the ground. I opened my eyes and figured he'd be fine. But then some tall kid helped him up. He was blonde, and he had blue bobby pins taking hair out of his eyes. Mahiru started talking to him but I zoned out, I saw some younger kid wearing a cape and top hat run up to them, then I caught a glimpse of his face.

"Hugh?" I said it pretty quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Kuro!" He ran over and hugged me, pushing me off the swing and into the dirt, I groaned a little.

We talked to them for a while, we learnt that the tall guys name was Tetsu and that his family owned an onsen.

"We're going trick or treatin' with Hyde and Lily, 's well as the guys they live with. Tetsu's Grandma is going away for the week and we're allowed to sleep there, by ourselves! Wanna join?" Hugh chirped.

"Sure! How about we meet here on Monday after school?" Mahiru seemed excited.

I thought about it. It sounded like a pain, but if Mahiru wanted to go, I did too. I nodded.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So I'm going as a cat, and you're going as a superhero? _Weird_ , can't deal..." I yawned while we sat on the couch.

"It's gonna be awesome! I'm kinda sad that I can't go with Sakuya though..."

"Why isn't side curl coming again?"  
"Dunno. Said he had plans or somethin'."

"Mhm."

I picked up a newspaper on the coffee table. It mostly had boring stuff, considering it was a local newspaper. The school was getting a new classroom, _boring_. A new fruit shop was opening, _boring_. Our team won some sport, _boring_. Another kid went missing, _expected_. There was some police investigation in the forest, _boring_. There was a haunted house down the road, _boring_.

Boring, utterly boring.

Mahiru got up to make dinner since his uncle wasn't home yet. He was pretty good at cooking, but he only really made basic stuff, or 'simple' meals as he liked to call them. Since ramen was what he considered simple, I was fine with it. While I'll admit that before I started living with him I only ate unhealthy junk, but I was really starting to like his spaghetti.  
 **\--------------------------**  
Thunder boomed outside while we sat at the table, it didn't really phase either of us.

"Are you nervous about Halloween?" I sighed, shoving spaghetti into my mouth.

"What do you mean?" Mahiru put down his fork.

"Do you think they'll come after anyone?" I wasn't so sure myself, and Mahiru usually knew a lot about these things.

His breath hitched for a second, but he shook his head.

 _Liar_.

**\--------------------------------------------------------------**

As we were washing dishes, Mahiru suddenly froze and turned towards the window.

"There's laundry on the line..." His eye twitched.

"And it's already drenched. We'll get it tomorrow." I sighed.

"Kuro. Most of our clothes are out there."  
"So? It's not like we can get them now."

"We can try and grab them-"  
" _Whatever_. You go do that."

"I need your help though."  
He looked stressed. There were a lot of clothes, and I didn't want him to catch a cold. Shut up.

**\------------------------------------------------------------**

"You get the clothes on the right side, I'll get the left." He breathed as we stood under the cover,  trying to think of a quick way to get everything.

"We run out on three?" I turned to him, he nodded.

"One... Two..." We said in sync.

"Three!" I ran as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast. Mahiru instantly slipped over, fell flat on his face and landed in mud. I stifled a laugh and helped him up. We scrambled around to grab clothes, but by the time we were inside I was drenched in cold rain water and Mahiru had mud in his hair.

"Wanna take a bath?" He said laying clothes along the floor.

"Whatever, you're basically a mud monster so I'll let you go first." I sat on the  couch,    squeezing water out of my fringe. He nodded and walked towards the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised how often I write in Kuro's POV even though he's not my favourite. Weird.


	9. Chapter 9

**-Misono's POV-**

I looked at my watch, they were late. Everyone except for Kuro and Shirota was waiting outside the school. I looked at everyone's costumes. Hugh was a bat, Sendagaya was a strongman (one of the circus types.), Hyde was a hedgehog, Todoroki was obviously an angel, Lily was a butterfly and I couldn't believe he'd actually convinced me to be a  ladybug, seriously.

"Sorry we're late!" I turned and saw Shirota, whom was wearing a cape that looked like it'd just been stitched together, dragging a bored looking Kuro. The lazy half of the duo had some cat ears on his head. He looked stupid.

"So, what's the plan?" Lily smiled.

"First we'll walk to Tetsu's Grandma's place and put our sleeping bags and stuff there. Then, we'll go 'round looking for candy!" Hugh cheered.

"Tetsu, where is your Grandma's house anyway?" Mahiru looked at the tallest human being to ever walk the earth.

"The forest." He was a man of a few words.

 **\--------------------------------------------------------**  
While it was undeniably creepy being in some old house in the middle of the woods, it was comfortable. Hugh and I were 'mapping' out which houses to go to first.  
"Did anyone bring a flashlight? We might have to walk back in the dark.."

Mahiru nodded. "I bought a few, actually."

"What about matches?"

"Why do we need matches?" Licht joined the conversation.

"There's no electrical heating, but there is a fireplace. So, does anyone have any matches?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"We'll have to stop somewhere then-" I started, but was cut off by Tetsu.

"This is pretty cool, are you a genius or something?" Tetsu was looking at the map I had made.

"Sendagaya, you're in my class. You shouldn't be surprised." I had no idea how to take compliments, other than denying them or ignoring them.

**\---------------------------------------------------------**

It was the last house of the night, and we knocked on the door, saying the obligatory line.

"Trick-or-treat!"  
An older man opened the door, there was something familiar about his face, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I noticed that Kuro looked slightly puzzled as well.

"Gee, you kids are out late! Wanna come inside for some hot chocolate?" His eyes landed on me for a second and I walked back a little.

_I knew that voice._

_But where?_

"No. We're just heading home." Kuro narrowed his eyes at him.

The man chuckled. "Oh well, here's your candy."  
He put a few jellybeans in everyone's bags, except mine. He put a wrapped chocolate into my bag.

"Th-Thanks..." How was I supposed to respond?

On the way back to Tetsu's, it was dark. Lily, Mahiru, Tetsu and Hyde were all holding flashlights, and I was carrying the matches. I heard heavy footsteps behind us, I shot around, but nothing was there.

"What is it, Misono?" Lily turned around to ask me since I was falling behind.

"Thought I heard something..."  
"Maybe it was an animal or something, don't worry." Mahiru grabbed my arm so I could catch up with the rest of the group. I snickered slightly, 'don't worry' _easy for him to say..._

I took the chocolate out of my bag, "Anyone want this?"  
"Me!" Licht and Hyde said in unison, I threw it at them and they both jumped for it.

They started arguing about it. (like they do with everything else.) and it was honestly kind of amusing.

"I caught it!" Hyde shouted.

"No, you really didn't!" Licht yelled, twice as loud.

"Guys! I'll just split it in half." Mahiru got it off the two of them and broke it.

We froze when we saw a few metal rectangles fall out.

Lily leaned down and picked one up, his face went pale.

"It's, It's a razor blade..." He whispered.

That man who I recognised had given me that chocolate, one of us could've eaten it and _died_. I wanted to vomit just at the thought, but stopped myself as I recalled hearing noises behind us.

"W-We have to go. _Now_." I tried being stern.

Nobody protested.

Somebody ran out of the trees on my right, coming towards us.

I panicked.

I lit a match with shaky hands.

And threw it at him.

It landed on his jacket, and he instantly took the wealth in the form of clothing off his back and stomped on it. While this happened, we all ran. I wasn't fast, but Lily hadn't hesitated to help me.

**\------------------------------------------**

We shut all the windows and locked all the doors.

"Does.... Does anyone have a phone?" My voice cracked.

No answer.

I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Send-Sendagaya, what about a house pho-" I was cut off by silence that followed the power being cut and being surrounded  by darkness.

"Stay calm, they'll leave soon. We just have to hide..." Lily whispered.

We heard smashing glass.

**\----------------------------------------**

I never thought I'd be stuck in a pantry with my tall classmate and Lily, hiding from child abductors on Halloween.

I hated to admit it, but we were holding hands out of fear.

Then, we heard somebody scream from upstairs. It was Hugh.

Tetsu opened the door and ran out, I tried grabbing his arm, but Lily pulled me back.

I was crying now. We heard a lot of yelling and fighting.

We both froze when we heard a few voices a few metres away.

"We've got two, that's all we need."  
"We could get more..."  
"One of them probably ran away and got help already. We need to leave."

I tried every breathing trick I had ever been taught, every coping method I could think of, but all I could do was hyperventilate. Lily made sure he was holding onto me.

  
After around an hour of silence and being on the verge of a  panic attack. We were sure they were gone.

"Everyone, go to the living room. It's safe." Lily said, it echoed through the entire house.

**\--------------------------------------------------------**

We all sat there, in front of the fire crying and trying to figure out what to do.

Mahiru looked exhausted.

Kuro was obviously just trying his hardest to seem calm.

Hyde's cocky grin had vanished.

Licht was actually leaning against Hyde, as they were wrapped in blankets.

And Lily had concern written all over his face.

"Was anyone with Hugh?" Mahiru spoke up.

Nobody said anything.

"Misono and I were with Tetsu, he ran when he heard Hugh scream." Lily looked at _me_.

"We can't call anyone. What do we do?" Kuro looked at _me_ as well.

"We could always just walk to the town and get help there..." Mahiru was the next to turn to _me_.

"Maybe they escaped..." Hyde made eye contact with _me_.

"Where do you think they are?" Licht asked, turning to _me_.

Everyone was expecting _me_ to have an answer. And _I_ couldn't even offer a hypothesis.

 _I_ couldn't help but feel that Hugh and Tetsu were in that situation because _I_ couldn't think of a plan. It was _my_ fault.

**\--------------------------------------**

We all felt useless now, we couldn't go outside because they might've still been out there, and the power was still out.

I checked my watch, it was already past midnight. None of us could sleep.

"We'll look for him, first thing in the morning, right?" Mahiru said and we nodded.

"Do you think they'll be okay? Both of them I mean." Hyde whispered, he was looking at a wall. His eyes were glassy, and he was undoubtedly remembering something.

I gave him an empathetic look, I knew how he felt.

What were we going to tell their parents? _'Oh, sorry. We clearly heard them both getting abducted but we all wussed out instead of helping them. Haha!'_

I hugged my shaky knees to my chest. I wished I could've done more, maybe if I had been stronger, or faster I could've grabbed Tetsu and at least saved him. Maybe if I hadn't lit that guy's jacket on fire, they wouldn't have chased us. Maybe if I had thought of a better plan sooner, we wouldn't have had to hide.

_Maybe, if we looked for them sooner, both of their mutilated, dead bodies wouldn't have been found the next day._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry.


	10. Chapter 10

**-Kuro's POV-**

I wanted to vomit, and cry. We _all_ did.

But all we could do was just stand there. A few of us stumbled back.

Mahiru grabbed my sleeve, I grabbed his hand.

"What... _What_ do we do?" Licht sounded unsure, it didn't seem like him, he was always sure of what he wanted.

"Mahiru, Hyde and I will stay. Kuro, Lily and Licht can go into town and get help." Misono spoke up, he wasn't looking at Tetsu and Hugh. It was obvious that he was just trying to sound confident, though his voice was shaking.

I then noticed Hyde, there was no light in his eyes and he was just staring at _them_. I realised why. He probably wasn't in the best place.

"Hyde." I grabbed his arm.

"I'll stay, you go with Lily and Licht." I told him, everyone watched. I didn't want him to have to stay.

It was like he hadn't even noticed me there. I moved my hand in front of his face, but his eyes didn't follow.

"Hyde!" Licht shouted. Hyde whipped around, and the reality seemingly kicked in. He started bawling his eyes out, while mumbling things about 'her'. It was still weird to see him like that.

**\--------------------------------------------**

The three of us sat, facing away from Tetsu and Hugh.

"Do, do you think it's our fault?" Mahiru spoke up.

"No, it's no-" My lie was cut off.

"We should've looked for them sooner!" Misono half yelled, his voice cracked.

There was a pause.

"I-I'm sorry.. It's just..." Misono put his face in his hands.

"I don't want it to happen to you guys, or anyone..." He whispered, seemingly to himself.

"It won't!" Mahiru stood up, I gave him a look.

We all turned when we heard a yell.

"Lilac! Where are you!?" Some kid with black hair wearing a kimono, (Tsubaki?) ran onto the pathway looking pretty frantic.

I got up, and ran. I grabbed his arms.

"What did you do?!" I screamed at him, what was I saying?

"Do you really think I have any part in all of this? I can't find my friend, does that make it _my_ fault?" He was being genuine, I let go of him.

He was obviously upset and probably mad.

It was like Tsubaki was different than the first time I saw him. At first he was weird, and honestly just creepy. But now, he was in the same boat as all of us.

Just some scared kid hoping his friends weren't dead.

But we couldn't exactly hope though.

 **\-------------------------------------------------------------**  
It had been over a week.  
"Y'know.... It's Hugh's birthday tomorrow..." Lily's voice almost cracked, though he was smiling.  
Lily, Misono, Licht, Hyde, Mahiru and I were all sitting in the park, savouring our time before the sun went down.  
None of us were allowed out after dark, for good reasons, none of us really wanted to be outside anyway.  
"Can we... Visit him and Tetsu tomorrow?" Misono avoided eye contact. It was strange to hear him call someone by their first name.  
" ..I think we should. After school tomorrow, at the cemetery." Mahiru spoke up, we all agreed.  
I then noticed Hyde, he was sitting a few metres away from us. Even though he never usually left Licht's side.  
He had been more tired at school lately. Nightmares probably kept him up. I couldn't blame him.  
Hyde had been like that after she died too, quiet, isolated and depressed.  
seeing him like that made me feel pretty terrible, almost angry. Angry at something.  
But at what?  
\-------------------------  
"Go to sleep already..." I sighed, lying in my bed.

I looked out the window, at the clouds and the stars. The stars always shined, so did Mahiru. But then what was I? Was I one of the stars too?

"How'd you know I was awake?" I head Mahiru sit up.

"I can hear your weird breathing.." I stuffed my face into the pillow, I just wanted to sleep.

"Oh... Sorry, Kuro." He lied back down. Wait, what? I wasn't mad.

"Don't be."  
 **\---------------------**

_I stared down at the toddler in front of me._

_"Ah, Kuro. That's your new little brother Hugh." My- Father kneeled down next to me._

_"How?" Four year old me dumbly replied, looking back at the little kid._

_**\-----** _

_"He walked, wow." I looked next to me and saw Jeje, he was looking at Hugh. Who was trying to mess with his paper bags._

_"Hey- Don't touch those..." He mumbled. I chuckled slightly._

_**\----** _

_".. 'Kay! See you later!" Hugh waved, the school uniform was occasionally too big for kindergarteners, but the shorts went past his knees and the shirt was a monster compared to him. I waved slightly back at him. I was meant to show him around a little more considering it was the first day but he was confident, really confident._

_**\---** _

_With some effort, he blew out the eight red candles on the cake._

_All my siblings cheered._

_"Good job, Hugh! Happy birthday!" Hyde shouted, his glasses fell off and Hugh laughed._

_"Hey, what do you think I'll get next year?" Hugh smiled._

_"Dunno, what do you want?" My voice was deadpan, but I sounded excited enough for him._

_"Top hat!"_

_"Huh?"_   
_"I said a top hat!"_

_"Why would you want a top hat?"_

_"I'm a vampire! It'll look cool!"_

_Obviously, my brother wasn't a vampire. We all humoured him though._

_He would sometimes wear plastic fangs to school, get in trouble and then protest with "But Miss! They're real!"_   
_Sure, he got annoying sometimes._

_But I loved him._

_**\-------------------** _

"Hey, can we stop here?" Mahiru and I were walking home from school. I spotted a hat shop.

"Uhh.. Sure?"  
I went inside and the black top hat caught my eye. I felt around in my pockets and smirked when I still had the money that I was supposed to spend on food.

"Do you gift wrap?" I asked at the register, rubbing the back of my neck.

"It's only _Novem_ -" The lady tried to start.

"Do you?" I asked again.

She sighed. "We only have coloured  tissue paper at the moment.."  
"That'll do."  
I walked out with the present tucked under my arm.

Mahiru was still standing there, waiting for me, he had a puzzled look on his face.

"What's that?"  
  
"A present." I mumbled.

**\----------------------**

Tetsu and Hugh's parents were there too. Mahiru's Uncle talked to them a little, we didn't.

I looked around, Hyde and Misono were talking, and Lily was carrying flowers. They were mostly blue and red orchids and I wasn't sure about the others. I didn't know much about flowers,

Most of us were avoiding eye contact with each other, even if we were speaking.

I tried not to think about it too much.

After putting Hugh's present in it's respective place. I sat down next to Mahiru, he looked at me. But he didn't say anything.

I turned to him, and a thought occurred to me. That night, when he almost got killed, if I didn't do anything, he would've died. It could've been him. I looked at everyone else, I didn't want any of them to die, not at all.

"Mahiru.." I whispered and he turned to me.

I looked right into his eyes.

"Can you promise me something?"  
"What is it?"  
"That you'll live."  
He froze, almost unsure of himself. He stopped looking at me, then nodded.

My thoughts from the night before returned to me, and I realised that I wasn't another star. I was the grey, dull, cloud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is late.


End file.
